Instant Music
by Bunny Hooded Bombchu
Summary: I origanally had no intention of going back to Earth after finding Atomsk. But that little brat still had my guitar and, dammit, I wanted it back! Haruko POV
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! Man, I really haven't posted anything in a while. It's been, what, six months? And I still have some Lord of the Rings crack to finish up. Oh well. I'm sick of writing crackfics, so I'm going to attempt to write something Furi Kuri-ish...when you think about it, that's not too different from a crackfic, is it?

This will suck…I don't think the first chapter turned out nearly as bad as some of my other work, though. Review! Tell me what I can do better!

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It took me ten long years, but I found him.

Atomsk.

I can now tap into the mightiest power in the universe. Hell, I can destroy the universe with just a thought. Instantly obliterate entire cities, nations, planets with a blink of an eye. Throw all of space off balance with a flick of the wrist. Send everyone's existence back to oblivion with just the pluck of a guitar string.

I can do whatever I want with my life now. After all, who would stop me? To hell with the Galaxy Space Police Brotherhood. To hell with Medical Mechanica. It's not my problem anymore.

Those were my first initial thoughts after killing Atomsk and taking what was rightfully mine.

But after some months of gloating over my victory and quitting the Galaxy Space Police Brotherhood, I soon pathetically realized that I had nothing better to do.

When the thought first came to me I found it hilarious. Me, Haruhara Haruko, idiotically trapping myself in the endless cycle of going from place to place, identifying N.O. portals and using them against Medical Mechanica.

…As funny and pathetic as it was, it was all I had.

So I, rather stubbornly in retrospect, flew my Hyper Flight Vespa over to the planet where Medical Mechanica had originated and blew it up. As simple as that.

Having destroyed my favorite enemy, I cheerfully set out to find something else to do with my life. I knew that this would be a hard thing to do, perhaps even harder then killing Atomsk (Notice that I said 'killing Atomsk'. Finding him was a hell unto itself.) and I would need some tools for this new journey. For one thing, a weapon. Yes, yes, I could kill with my bare hands or my thoughts, but I've always preferred a real fight. I had left my Rickenbacker to an old friend, so I had been using the double necked guitar that I had come across on Earth for my needs, musical and otherwise.

I originally had no intention of going back to Earth. Back to Mabase. Back to Takkun.

But I had broken my guitar while fighting Atomsk, and I had been yearning to play my Rick again for years.

Takkun would hand it over easily, I thought. He'd be eager to get rid of any reminder that I had once been a part of his life.

So I pointed my Hyper Flight Vespa in the general direction of Planet Earth, not because I missed Mabase, or the people in it, or because I wanted to tell everyone there of my victory, or mess with Takkun. I just wanted my bass back and that was it. Really.

I'd be wandering around searching for my purpose before I knew it.

**Instant Music, Chapter One**

The first thing I saw was the town of Mabase, thousands of feet below me as I flew downwards on my Vespa. It didn't look like it had changed that much. They hadn't even torn down the Medical Mechanica plant, though the surrounding wreckage had been cleared. I wrinkled my nose, sensing that something was not quite right. Looking down on Mabase, I realized that the town was still covered in smoke similar to the noxious fog that Medical Mechanica had used to spew out. But that was ten years ago, and I had personally seen that Medical Mechanica would never flatten another planet again. I dismissed it as silly human pollution. They'd never learn.

The second thing I saw when I pulled into the Earths atmosphere was Amarao, flying along weakly on his Fuji Rabbit scooter, waving to me wildly and yelling what he thought was my real name, Raharu. My bracelet had been reacting weakly to his pathetic amount of N.O. for the past few minutes, so I wasn't too surprised to see him. He obviously must've picked me up on the radar over at the Interstellar Immigration Department and rushed over. I raised an eyebrow at the now-flying Amarao. I guess he made his scooter flyable somehow to impress me- He was always doing things like that.

'_Oh well,_' I thought. '_Maybe dragging the authorities into this will make everything a little more interesting._'

I flew my Vespa over to his position where he had given up on waving at me and was now clutching the handles of his scooter, looking down at the town of Mabase and the surrounding areas with a fearful expression.

"What, is it your first time flying?" I said, not bothering to hold back my laughter at the man. Excuse me, did I say man? I meant child.

"N-no," he stuttered. "This is a new scooter, and I'm kinda…" He trailed off to glance at the ground below. "I'm still getting used to it!" He snapped, violently forcing the town far below him out of his vision to glare at me.

"What?" I asked innocently, ignoring the fact that he had always had that rickety scooter and it was years old. "It was an honest question. There's no reason to be mad."

This just seemed to infuriate him. "Look, I'm here to confirm a rumor. Did you…" His voice trailed off, and his expression changed to one of pathetic sadness. "…find Atomsk?"

I grinned. The rumors had apparently spread a little faster then I expected. "Yes!" I yelled, replaying the victory in my head, feeling the proof that I had killed him running through my body. I jumped over to the back of Amaraos scooter and hugged him from behind. "You don't look very happy," I said, glancing at his hideously large eyebrows that were slanting downward. "Jealous, perhaps?"

This obviously rubbed him the wrong way. "_You wish!_" He pulled away, attempting to get as far away as he could without upsetting the balance of his floating scooter. I laughed and jumped back to my Vespa. "I'm over you, got it?" He yelled, pointing at me, furious.

"Yes, yes, of course you are, now why bring that up?" I said airily as I felt my bracelet react to the town below me. I pinpointed the location of the N.O. in my head almost instantly. This conversation would have to end soon.

Amarao faltered, eyebrows quivering oddly. "But, I thought you and Atomsk…"

I turned to look at him, realizing what he meant. That idiot still thought Atomsk was my boyfriend. I smiled sweetly at him. "Oh nonsense, everyone knows my real lover is Takkun!"

It was a hard blow to his pride. "Dammit, what does that brat have that I don't?"

"Oh no, you have everything he does. It's just that everything he has is much, much…bigger…" I thought about this for a moment. "Well, except for the eyebrows."

"And that's why you're back?" he yelled, one of the aforementioned eyebrows nearly falling off. "To mess with his head for fun? Don't think I haven't noticed- I don't know how you did it, but you destroyed Medical Mechanica! Can't you just cuddle up with your little Atomsk and leave us alone? Mabase has enough problems without you"

"Nonsense. The only problem with Mabase is that it has too few problems in the first place." I leaned back in my Vespa seat, feeling the bracelet rattle. I was getting tired of this, and I had a bass to track down. "Besides," I said. "It didn't quite work out between me and Atomsk. It was going really well…but then…" I feigned sadness and wailed, "I realized it would never work! After all, he is a guy, and I am a lesbian!" I suddenly grinned and gave Amarao a quick salute before speeding downwards towards the N.O. I was sensing. "Bai bai!"

"What the-? Raharu! Wait!" I swear, he almost jumped off his scooter in pursuit of me before realizing that he was several thousand feet from the ground. I spiraled downwards, letting the bracelet lead me to Takkun, laughing hysterically.

At this point, I was considering staying on Earth for a little while. The conversation with the inept officer had left me feeling a little light headed, thinking of how much fun it had been to mess with Takkun.

At this point, I was able to honestly admit to myself that I kinda missed the little moron. It'd be nice to see him again, and see if he ever really was able to grow up.

At this point, I had completely forgotten that there was one other person with N.O. wandering the streets of Mabase.

I crashed my Vespa to the ground in front of what I sensed to be Takkun, whooping wildly- How's that for an entrance? I only wished that I had a guitar- of any kind- with me so I could whack him over the head and give him a proper greeting.

Then, as the dust settled, I realized that Takkun didn't have purple hair, glasses, and an oddly feminine figure. I blinked, staring at a very shocked and confused Ninamori, glasses askew, gaping at me.

"Hey, Eri-san!" I said, hiding my disappointment of not finding Takkun. "Wearing glasses now, in public? You've really matured."

Ninamori got over the shock and briefly placed the two shopping bags she was carrying on the ground beside her so she could adjust her glasses. She then glared at me with more hatred then Amarao could ever muster.

"Get away from me."

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Oh my, oh my, Ninamori is pissed off. RUN AWAY! (ahem) Yeah, please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Meh…New chapter…fast, huh? That usually doesn't happen. You'd think that if I could update this quickly, I'd hurry up and finish my Lord of the Rings crack. Ah well. Hate emails don't bug me that much. Many thanks to the reviewers.

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Before I faced Medical Mechanica on Earth, I took Takkun away with me for a couple of weeks.

The purpose was to manipulate him and get him to obey my orders, but looking back, I don't know if it was really necessary. In the past, it had taken some persuasion for my other N.O. infected associates to follow me, but Takkun agreed the moment I brought it up. He probably didn't really need it.

I would've had to threaten others with bodily harm, promise them sex, even resort to kidnapping on occasion, but Takkun followed without question (other then to ask where it was I had gone to and cry his eyes out). I was pleasantly surprised.

Then again, maybe it was just the fog getting to him. I had never seen Medical Mechanica smoke that bad before. It was almost getting to me, actually.

I was going to ask him why he followed me so easily but before I could, he asked me, "Why did you come back?"

"To defeat Medical Mechanica, and take what they stole from me," I had said. Then I grinned slyly and giggled, "And to be with you, Takkun…"

"Shut up. That's not what I meant." He paused, and then tried again. "…How could you stand to come back?"

There was something in his tone that confused me, but I can't remember exactly what it was. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…" He seemed unsure of what to say. "If I had a chance to leave Mabase, I'd go and never come back. Anyone would, I think."

"Takkun," I started, stressing the nickname lazily (Mamimi always did that, and I had picked it up from her), "The universe has its share of boring towns, you know?"

"Yeah, but…" He struggled with what to say for a while, then finally whispered, "Nothing amazing happens here."

I smiled slightly. "You always say that. Even when you have robots popping out of your head."

There was another brief pause, then he muttered, "Fine then. Nothing amazing happens here." One more pause, longer then the others. "…Except for you."

He was blushing.

I always liked it when he blushed. He looked like a cuddly stuffed animal. So cuddly, in fact, that I glomped him to the ground. "Takkun! _That's so cute!_"

"Get off, there's nothing cute about that!"

"Oh yes there is!"

"Dammit, get off!"

"Haha!"

That was the last night before we attacked Medical Mechanica.

**Instant Music, Chapter 2**

"Get away from me."

I had never seen Ninamori so intimidating. I quickly thought back to when I last saw her and flipped through my actions to see if there was anything I had done to make her apparent hate for me justified. I guess I indirectly activated her N.O., but I didn't think that was the problem this time.

"Sorry, Eri-san! Let me guess, you're in your period? Sucks, doesn't it?"

She just looked at me with her seething hatred, gathered her wits (and her shopping bags), and walked off with a pompous air. I wasn't satisfied with this at all, so I grabbed my fallen Vespa and rode on until I was right next to her.

"It's funny," I said. "I thought you were Takkun at first. Have you seen him anywhere?"

She turned to me with that same infuriated look. "You came back for Naota? After you just abandoned him like that?"

This, for some odd reason, made me angry. "Hey, I had a job to do."

"A job that took you _ten years_?"

"Yup," I said. "And it would've taken a lesser being twenty!" I pumped my fist into the air, quickly jumping up to stand on the seat of my slowly moving vespa much to the amusement of the passing pedestrians. I was getting over triumphant about my victory again. I would have to stop doing that, or I'd start scaring people away.

Ninamori turned up her nose in disgust. "He was completely incapable of moving on after you left! Do you have any idea what you put him through, you monster?"

'_Hell yes, I know what I put him through!'_ I wanted to yell, my bravado suddenly shattered. _'He confessed his love for me, and what did I do? I left him to grow up in this rotting shell of a town.'_

As I sat back down sullenly, a thought came to me; years ago, when Ninamori stayed the night at the bakery to escape the press, it seemed rather obvious to me that she had a thing for Takkun.

I guess that would explain why she was so pissed at me. She was worried about him. And, if he really was incapable of forgetting me, then Ninamoris chances with him were ruined. If that was the case, there was really nothing I could do.

I gave up. This conversation was tiring me out anyway, which was strange. Usually it took much more to get me worked up like this. I turned my vespa around bad temperedly, and turned to Ninamori one more time.

"Where is he?" I couldn't sense Takkuns N.O. no matter how hard I tried. Last time I visited Mabase I could always tell where he was, but I couldn't sense him anywhere. It gave me an odd unsettling feeling. Probably why I felt so oddly angry.

She had her back turned, so I couldn't see her expression. "He left," she said quietly.

"He what?" I couldn't believe it. The Takkun I left years ago seemed incapable doing anything without me.

"He left," she said, louder this time, and then continued quietly as if she was speaking to herself. "It happened awhile ago. Lucky for him. He and Mamimi are the only ones who made it out in time."

I looked at her quizzically. "In time for what?"

"Are you blind?" she said, whirling around and looking at me like I was crazy. "Look around you!"

I scanned the surrounding area. "Seems normal to me," I shrugged.

"Exactly," she spat, her anger returning. "Normal." She spoke this word as if it was the most obscene term in history, gave me one last glare, and walked away briskly.

'_Nothing amazing happens here. Except for you.'_

His words came to me randomly. Had Mabase really grown that much worse in my absence? I thought I had taught this town a lesson. I had left clearly visible marks. I brought intergalactic battles here. I had taught the citizens to wise up a little, and allow some insanity to filter into their town.

Did they forget? No, not with the Medical Mechanica plant still standing.

Maybe there was just no insanity to filter into the town in the first place.

Perhaps there was a little more to the remaining Medical Mechanica fog then I had first thought.

As I started up my vespa, I remembered that Amarao didn't seem too happy to hear that I had destroyed Medical Mechanica.

'_Mabase has enough problems without you!'_

'_Nonsense, the only problem with Mabase is that it has too few problems in the first place.'_

If Ninamori was anything to go by, I was right.

There were darker thoughts nagging at me as well, like something I forgot and didn't want to remember, but I pushed it back down and decided to head over to my old home, Shigekuni Bakery for some answers.

'_Nothing amazing happens here. Except for you.'_

Takkuns quote was now making me flinch uncomfortably.

Maybe he left my bass at the bakery when he left. Maybe I can get out of here sooner then planned.

Earth (and Takkun) suddenly seemed less inviting.

* * *

Heheh. Guilty Haruko. How silly is that? That's waaaaay OOC for Haruko. I think. …Review please. It'll make t3h BHB happy. 


	3. Chapter 3

My god it's been half a year since I promised to post the last chappy of my LotR crack, and yet, here's another chapter of Instant Music. Dammit.

Slight warning...There's some references to the manga. This is definatly Animeverse, but there are some names and things that people who have read the manga will recognize. If you haven't read the manga, don't worry, you'll still get it.

Yeesh. I feel like these chapters have just been one conversation after another...Stuff will actually start happening next chapter, I promise!

* * *

I don't know what I was thinking when I tried to use Nandaba Kamons head as an N.O. portal. Perhaps I was surprised at the strength of Takkuns portal, and had hoped that it was hereditary. Then again, it was ten years ago and maybe it was some sort of manipulative trick I was using on Takkun. Come to think of it, I'm almost positive that's what it was.

Anyway, I took Kamon in for experimenting and failed miserably, with a temporary demise from him as the end result. Knowing that Takkun would notice his fathers absence, I replaced him with a fun cuddly massage dummy. Of course, when I wasn't playing baseball to raise funds to replace Kamons un-received paychecks, I was taking advantage of the fact that I now had a fun cuddly massage dummy to play with. This, from what I could tell, angered and annoyed Takkun, a fact that I remember to get some sort of grim satisfaction from.

Yeah, if that was the case, then it was most likely manipulative. I mean, DUH of course it was! I even knocked a satellite bomb out of the sky to give it all a nice big climactic finale! Yes, yes, I'm amazing, you say? Damn right I am!

Takkun's one lucky little brat. I don't often knock satellite bombs from the sky for my clients. Of course, Takkuns N.O. had exceeded most of the portals I had seen so far, so I probably did it because of my high hopes for him.

So I learned a little more about people who don't have N.O. doing things they shouldn't, had lots of fun cuddly massage time, got to pull new and exciting things out of Takkuns head, make him jealous…Yeah, I'd say that I was successful.

Conveniently enough, I also ended up teaching him an important life lesson about bravery and courage and all that crap. What a crazy coincidence that was.

I went waaaaay above and beyond for Takkun.

One lucky little brat, indeed.

**Instant Music, Chapter 3**

I stood outside Shigekuni Bakery, half expecting the place to be burnt down or closed up like in those stupid movies when people come back to their old home years later to find it gone. Luckily, the building was still mostly intact, and by the looks of it, still had some of the same old residents.

Obviously, Old Shigekuni-kun would be dead by now, Miyu-Miyu as well. Ten years was a hell of long time, even at the length of my aging (I probably looked about the same since I last saw Takkun, but I hadn't really been keeping track), and things were defiantly going to be different. Kamon was probably a feeble old pervert now. Kinda like ten years ago, only more feeble. And I could only guess at what happened to Canti.

I jumped up to the balcony of Takkuns room, leaving my Vespa as it was, nostalgically in its space next to the building. Nothing had changed too much; then again it was only the balcony. I pressed my forehead against the sliding glass door into Takkuns room. That wasn't changed either, though I groaned inwardly at the missing Rickenbacker bass.

He had really left. I didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

Where to? America? It was possible, but he wouldn't really care where he was going as long as it was out of Mabase.

But to bring my guitar with him? That's insane, unless he had really settled down somewhere.

…Or sold it off at a pawnshop. The thought almost made me wince. Me, Haruhara Haruko, wince. Almost nothing makes me wince.

I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, noticing the same unchanged-ness that plagued all of Mabase still. Something nudged my leg, and I looked down at my feet to see a large familiar blue blob of a cat.

I smiled. So Miyu-Miyu was still alive after all. It was impossible, insane, and completely miraculous.

'_Ah well, such is life_,' I thought. I wrinkled my nose, suddenly suspicious. '_But not in Mabase.'_ Kneeling down, I placed a gloved hand on Miyu-Miyus head.

"Stardate, 1406-5583. (Just kidding.) All projects in limbo indefinitely. (Just kidding.) Agent 340. (Just kidding.) Reporting a still open and available communication link to the Galaxy Space Police Brotherhood," I said with all the air of lazy command I used to have before I quit the force.

It took a few seconds for the connection to clear up the ten years of dust, but sure enough, Miyu-Miyu turned to me bad temperedly and I heard the voice of my old commander, Superior Haruha Raharu.

"Haruhara! What are you doing back on Earth? You don't have the authority to go to any planet you want anymore, especially after you quit!"

"Hey, hey, you should be thanking me," I said, smirking. I had always liked the name Raharu and I had once borrowed it as my alias when I met Amarao, but I never really liked the Superior. "If the higher ups found out about this you'd be out on your ass just like me!"

She ignored this fact and continued berating me. "Just because you took Atomsk, doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want. All powerful or not, the Galaxy still has laws, and you have to follow them!" There was a hint of fear in her voice, barely detectible around all the malice.

"I dunno…" I said this wishing she could see the evil grin on my face. "We broke several laws going to Earth ten years back, didn't we?"

I heard her falter a little, then continue. "Yes, we broke the Eroero laws, but it was necessary! That idiot Commander Amarao let Medical Mechanica break through the defenses. We didn't have a choice, not with Atomsk so close. You know that." She had wanted Atomsk as much as I did, but for a different reason: promotion.

"With this open connection, you're breaking the Eroero laws now," I reminded her.

"You're one to talk, you're actually there."

The Eroero laws stated that no individual or object alien to the Earth could enter any part of its biosphere. The Earth had been one of a few planets picked for study and observation, and they didn't want any outside forces screwing with the balance.

"Look, I'm going to close down the connection. I do you a favor; you do me one and keep the Galaxy Space Police Brotherhood out of my affairs here. I'll leave as soon as I find what I'm looking for." I was feeling reasonable, and I really did owe Raharu a favor after she distracted Amarao allowing me into Earth ten years back.

Raharu hesitated. If this got out, she'd not only lose her job, she'd go to jail. But it would happen either way, really. Leaving an open communication link, especially on Earth, was a very serious matter, though it seemed unnecessarily important to me. I was the only one who knew how to use Miyu-Miyu correctly anyway.

I heard her sigh, seeing no other way out. "You win, Haruhara."

I smiled, victorious again in dealing with the authorities. "I knew you'd see things my way."

"You're here to see the boy with the N.O. portal, aren't you?"

My smile dropped immediately. "Excuse me?"

"Don't try to hide it, you just want to see him again. Look, I hate to break up the whole 'star crossed lover' thing you've got going on, but you screwing him can screw up the future of the human race I hope you know what-"

"My love for Takkun can move mountains, Raharu, mountains!" I said extravagantly. I wasn't serious of course.

I heard some odd noises coming from the other side, and I began to laugh hysterically, picturing a frustrated Raharu clawing her face and probably getting coffee everywhere somehow. Ah, good times.

"Dammit Haruhara, just do what you came to do and leave!" And before I could laugh again, she closed off the connection.

I sighed in the following silence, placed my hand back on Miyu-Miyus fuzzy blue head, muttering, "Stardate 1406-5583. (Just kidding.) All projects in limbo indefinitely. (Just kidding.) Agent 340. (Just kidding.) Requesting communication link shut down."

After a few more seconds, Miyu-Miyu nodded to confirm the shut down and walked off lazily looking a little more tired then before. The link had been the only thing keeping him alive for the past ten years. Without it, he'll age rapidly and die.

I really didn't mean Takkun any more harm then what I had already caused him, and the first thing I did upon breaking into his house was kill his cat. Way to go, Haruko-chan. Way to freaking go.

"Ah well, not my problem," I said to myself, pushing these thoughts out of my head.

"Haruko-san!" a joyous voice rang out from behind me. I whirled around and was face to face with Takkuns father, Kamon. I broke out into a smile. "Mon-chan!"

He attempted to glomp me, but I drew away and he came crashing to the ground. "Haruko-san…Still playing hard to get, as usual." He moaned, from his position on the ground. I looked down at him, noting very little change in him other then some slightly graying strands of hair.

"Sorry Mon-chan, I'm saving myself for Takkun," I said sweetly.

"Eh, of course you are," he said, getting up and looking disappointed. "He went off somewhere else, though. But I'm so glad you're here!" He quickly tried to glomp me again, and failed as I stepped back once more.

"Ah, so cold, Haruko-san!"

"Sorry Mon-chan, I can't let you have too much fun with me. You'd enjoy it too much." I said playfully. "Now, where'd you hide Takkun, huh?"

He got up once more, not hearing the question. "Where did you go? We were so broken up without you, and Naota-kun was completely lovesick!"

'_Oh great, this again_,' I thought. At least Kamon didn't hate me for abandoning Takkun. He was just happy to have his sexy little housekeeper back.

"Ah yes, so lovesick. We all were!" He said overdramatically. He then said matter-of-factly, "You see, us men go insane if we don't do any furikuri-ing for too long."

"Of course, that's why I left. It builds character!"

"Ooh, that's so cruel! But you're here now! And with Naota-kun out of the house, we can do all the kurikuri-ing we want!" He looked like he was about to jump out of his clothes. I suppressed a giggle.

"Sounds arousing, but I'm kinda in a hurry. Do you have my bass anywhere?"

"Sorry, Haruko-san, but Naota took it, his only memory of you!"

"Aw," I pouted. "D'you know where he is? I really want my bass back…"

"Well," He scratched his head. "He went off into the outside world."

"Yeah, I figured that out. But where exactly?"

"Dunno."

What a wonderful father this man was.

"Well then, what about Canti?" I asked, not letting him see my annoyance and disgust.

"TV-kun's around here somewhere…Running the bakery, I would think."

I ran off to the bakery portion of the house, jumping down the steps two at a time, ignoring Kamons mournful cries at my immediate exit from his line of vision. I turned around a familiar corner and almost ran headlong into the Medical Mechanica robot.

"Hey Canti! Where's Takkun?"

He looked happy to see me, and gave me an immediate answer. Somewhere in Okinawa, stated the words across the screen that served as a face.

"Great Canti, that's all I need." I turned to leave, but I felt his hand grab my shoulder and stopped. Turning to him confusedly I saw more words flash across the screen

'Are you leaving?'

"Sorry Canti, but I really need to find Takkun. I need my bass back."

'You found Atomsk?'

"Yup. It's a very interesting story, but-" Canti suddenly held a metel finger to my lips, cutting me off.

'Then perhaps you can help us.'

* * *

Yay, Canti. I love Canti. Then again, who doesn't? 


	4. Chapter 4

Woo...Gomen for the wait...Things've been a little busier then I expected, and for some odd reason I'm unable to log on to on my computer. Rather odd, but oh well. Minor detail.

* * *

It had taken a little while to find out which planet housed the Medical Mechanica headquarters, but I made up for lost time on the journey there (a journey that took the better part of five seconds, may I add, yes, yes I am quite amazing, aren't I?), and soon found myself floating over a rather dull and flattened planet, my feet lightly placed on the edge of an old, but sturdy, Fender bass I had borrowed from a friend. 

I looked down upon the source of my troubles, and felt oddly nostalgic. I had many enemies, but this was by far one of my favorites. This one planet was the starting point of many memories of rage, annoyance, disappointment, child molestation, regular molestation, and hysterical laughter. Couldn't get much better then that. That was my entire life, right there in front of me.

Of course, it was still Medical Mechanica, and it still had to be obliterated. I tossed aside all affections for it nonchalantly, let my bracelet point me in the direction of the exported N.O. signals, and sped over to the correct side of the flattened planet. The blank expression that had wormed its way onto my face was kicked off and replaced with one of scary (and perhaps slightly perverted) playfulness.

So many ways to end it, all at the tips of my fingers! I was insane with glee, but I remember a solitary thought in my head, delaying Medical Mechanicas destruction for a few moments.

'Is this how Mamimi felt before burning down her worries?'

'Maybe. Yes, I think it is.'

Satisfied with that simple thought process I quickly picked out the center of the headquarters and shot a blast of energy about as big as a baseball hurtling towards it. Enough to blow up the headquarters and surrounding area, I thought.

I barely made it out of there after I realized that the planet would explode.

I stood there on the bass, watching the fireworks from a safe distance. For as long as I could remember, I was always in control of any situation. I always knew what I was doing. I always knew all the answers. I was always a dominant figure in peoples lives, one they knew to be careful around, one they knew not to bother giving answers to as I most likely already knew them.

This feeling of shocked surprise and even some slight guilt caught me off guard completely.

The planet wasn't a very big loss. It had been taken by Medical Mechanica, thus it was as good as gone. But the fact remained that I had just expected to destroy a few miles of machinery and corruption, but somehow destroyed an entire planet.

'Mamimi said that even if you burned a place down, the ashes remain.'

I smirked oddly, a little proud in some strange way that I had once again proven her wrong. There literally wasn't a trace left.

If I could do that with such a small bit of energy, just think of what else I could do. I could end the existence of everything if I wanted to.

That small smirk turned into a giggle, and that giggle turned into a roaring laugh so loud I thought the entire galaxy could hear it.

I'm the most powerful being in the universe! Me, Haruhara Haruko! It just seemed so random and stupid of fate to assign me these grotesque powers, I just had to laugh.

**Instant Music, Chapter Four**

I twitched irritably, angry for not seeing it coming. I should've known something was a little off with the fog, and that it was somehow a problem I'd be forced to deal with.

Then again, my interference with Medical Mechanica and the Eroero laws probably made all of this my fault. I'd heard of odd happenings on many of my old temporary residences, too many to be mere coincidence.

I crossed my arms and looked up at Canti. "Ok, ok, answer my questions, and I'll see what I can do."

'Why are you here?'

"No, no, no answer _my_ questions."

Canti crossed his arms impatiently, the text remaining. Living with Kamon must have made him more assertive, I thought.

"I want my bass back," I said, deciding to humor him for the moment.

Canti cocked his head to the side, looking rather confused for a robot. Another bit of text flashed across the screen.

'That's all?'

"Yeah, pretty much."

Canti looked as if he was processing this information, and a few seconds later he responded with:

'But what about Naota?'

I raised an eyebrow, surprised at the odd question.

Canti, thinking I misunderstood, deleted the name Naota and replaced it with Takkun. Other then that, the question remained unchanged.

I snorted and answered, "It's ok, I'm sure he'll hand it over."

'That's not what I meant.'

"Yeah, he probably wouldn't be too happy to see me. Ah well. All the more reason for him to get rid of the bass, right?"

The same statement remained on the screen.

My mood turned sour and I decided to change the subject. "You said you needed my help?"

Canti let the said subject slide and more lines of text appeared on his screen.

'I want you to take Kamon and me out of Mabase.'

This seemed like a reasonable request to me. Reasonable, but it made no sense.

"Can't you leave yourself?"

Canti shook his head. 'The Medical Mechanica plant won't let us.'

I was about to object when Kamon came stumbling in, is usually goofy and laidback look replaced by eerie seriousness. "Eyebrow-san said you had destroyed the planet of that medical plant."

"It's true, I did!" I said indignantly, angry that there was even a doubt that I had finished the job.

"Then why is it still here, pumping smoke into the air?"

I looked to Canti for affirmation. He nodded slowly. 'It's still working, even after ten years.'

"Well, then I'll go blow it up!" I turned to leave, only to have Canti tug on my scarf, forcing me still.

'Can you?'

"Of course I can. I have Atomsk, you know."

'Surely a power so great would have some repercussions.'

My mind went back to the destruction of the Medical Mechanica headquarters. That planet was six times the size of Earth. I frowned, realizing that I would have to get used to these powers and master them properly before I could full reap the benefits of Atomsk.

Well, that's something else to do with my life after Takkun hands over my bass. But for now, I had to make sure that I didn't blow up his planet by accident.

'It's not like you need to blow it up. We just want to get out. We tried on our own, but the plant wouldn't let us leave.'

What, did they have to resort to security robots? I dismissed the thought, assuming I could get through any Medical Mechanica defense. "You want me to get you two out of Mabase? Is that all?" I turned to Kamon.

"Yep, that's it." Kamon said, reverting to his silly perverted self. "And afterwards, we can celebrate your return properly with some-"

"Yes, yes, good old-fashioned orgy, sure-"I waved him away and turned back to Canti. "Grab him, I'll take you out of here."

Canti took Kamon, swung him over his shoulder (Kamon didn't protest, that crazy lil' perv), and followed me outside to my vespa. I ordered him to stay close behind, and then sped off in the direction of the Mabase border.

It was odd, but I was getting sick of Earth already. There was something I had hoped to find here, but didn't. And there was something in my gut that seemed to want to tell me that it wasn't just a bass.

Night had fallen at some point, and I realized that I was driving on that road along the beach. I had nearly forgotten that there even was an ocean here, and the salty air soon had my mind wandering. When was the last time I was on this road? I thought back and couldn't remember exactly. It was probably when Takkun and I had run away to the outskirts of Mabase. Or was it after I had infiltrated Medical Mechanica by crashing my vespa into the side of it? Takkun had come to get me then, and I think I had used this road to get us home, but I wasn't sure exactly.

All I could be sure of was that every time I had used this road, there was always someone sharing the vespa seat with me...

I frowned and looked back to see if Canti and Kamon were still following me. I frowned again and brought my vespa to a stop, leaping off at the last second and letting the motorbike crash off in the distance.

Kamon and Canti were nowhere to be found.

I sprinted in the opposite direction, whistling for my vespa to follow me. It wasn't too long before I noticed a large sign on the side of the road. 'YOU ARE NOW ENTERING MABASE,' it read in dreary text. I cursed loudly as I realized that I had been outside the border. Canti could've been completely overtaken ages ago and I didn't even notice! I'd never be able to find Takkun without his help!

I continued running and berating myself like this, until I saw Canti and Kamon wandering about aimlessly on the side of the road. I skidded to a stop (as did my vespa) and yelled angrily, "HEY! What's the deal? I thought I lost you back there!"

"Well, Haruko-san...you kinda did," remarked Kamon from over Cantis shoulder.

'This is what happens when we try to leave.' Canti explained. 'We get lost.'

"Well then," I started, quietly fuming at this excuse, "I'll lead you out and make sure you don't freaking get lost."

And that's exactly what I did. I acted as a Sheppard and made sure that Canti and Kamon were right there with me every step of the way. Things were fine until we were about ten feet from the Mabase border and Kamon started complaining.

"Haruko-san...I don't think we should go any further..." There was a hint of weakness in his voice that I decided to ignore.

"What, you're giving up? The border is right over there." I rode past the 'Welcome to Mabase' sign effortlessly and gestured for him to follow. "See, look, I'm out of Mabase and there's not a scratch on me."

Canti placed Kamon back on the ground, and both took a few steps in my direction. I smirked, thinking that my job was almost over and I could continue my search for Takkun. Or rather, my bass. Yes, yes, very important bass. So much more important and useful then silly lil' Takkun.

I probably would've dwelled more on the fact that I was looking for a bass and NOT Takkun, but the next thing I knew, Kamon was on the ground coughing up blood.

"Oh shit."

* * *

Oh my what a twist...(yawn)...I'll try to update sooner from now on. ...If I can...which I should be able to... 

Yeah, I've been really tired lately and I think some of it transferred over to Haruko in this chapter. So...sorry for the slight OOC, some minor alterations will be done by the time I post chapter five.


	5. Chapter 5

I know, I know, I know, I'm a horrible person for not updating for so long. Sorry! I've been busy composing and...composing...and more composing...um. But still! Sorry! I'm sure I should be able to update more often from now on though! And many Arigatous for the wonderful reviews! I feel bad for leaving everyone with a cliffhanger, I really do! So yay!

* * *

I joined the Galaxy Space Police Brotherhood when I was about Takkuns age.

Raharu had been my Superior from the very start, beginning with the end of a very long and drawn out job interview. And somehow, I knew that she hadn't expected much of me. I mean, when a twelve year old joins the GSPB it's usually going to end badly, right? It'd end in tears, whether it's the twelve-year-olds tears or tears of the people who watched her change from little girl to blood splatter in a couple of plasma beams.

She didn't give me many chances to prove her wrong; I had graduated from the Galaxy Space Police Brotherhood Academy with flying colors, honors, trumpets, all that crap, but she never could get past my age. Not even in the 'oh, I don't want her to get hurt' sense. This was the 'idiot twelve-year-old will slow us down' sense. Much worse, and much more annoying.

Raharu was just that…Raharu-ish. But that's why we're so alike, even now. After all, we have one thing in common; we'll do whatever it takes to get what we want.

However, I used to think it still didn't justify what she did to me.

A couple of months into the job I was sent to Tallion IV to pick up some samples for GSPB research. Easy enough. I had the samples picked up in exactly 12.4 seconds, a fact I remember to be proud of. I thought that as long as I did really well in my second-rate jobs, I'd move up to bigger things, such as the hunting of Atomsk, who was the real reason I joined the force.

I don't remember what happened next, but I do know I was knocked unconscious and dragged to the inner chambers of the GSPB Laboratory under Raharus orders.

There had been a very interesting and frustrating twist to the plot of Atomsk-hunting: Atomsk had been taken by someone else. A young aspiring evil force known as Medical Mechanica had done the job, and apparently had done it well.

The GSPB had sent the current officer in charge of Atomsks capture to sort out the problem, but he had been brutally killed by Medical Mechanicas budding technological genius of fog and robots.

The robots weren't a problem, but Raharu needed to create a soldier that was immune to the fog. That's where we came in; the officers and new recruits that Raharu didn't need were used as test subjects over a period of several months. I don't remember a thing…Probably just as well. Being traumatized would slow me down considerably, wouldn't it?

They never intended to let any of us live…But I eventually woke up to find myself (or…most of myself) in a recovery tank of LCL in front of a scowling Raharu. She explained the situation to me in pissed-off tones, saying that my test results were too appealing to pass up, and that with some fixing up I could be completely immune to Medical Mechanica fog, as well as several forms of cancer (they had done that completely by accident…funny how that works). I was fine with that, despite the deaths of my fellow recruits and the fact that Raharu had injected her own DNA into the LCL to insure that all of my organs would grow back, thus I now looked almost exactly like her.

Ok, maybe I was a little pissed off. For one thing, I looked like Raharu. I had looked a lot like her before, but now I practically WAS her, physically. And as for my fellow graduates…A social life wasn't ever very high on my list of priorities, especially compared to the life-encompassing goal of consuming Atomsk, but that didn't mean I wanted my friends dead, dammit.

I later decided that these sacrifices were worth it, however. It's hard to capture a nearly omnipotent being when you're weighed down by the past, right?

**Instant Music, Chapter Five**

"Oh shit!" I yelled, leaping off my vespa and running over to Kamon, who was now convulsing on the ground. "Mon-chan! You can't die on me now, you pervy bastard!" I grabbed him by the shirt collar and started slapping him, hoping he'd come to his senses. Unfortunately, all that did was make the problem worse, and I got blood all over myself. Way to go, Haruko-chan.

Canti, on the other hand, did what was probably the more reasonable thing; He scooped Kamon off the ground and ran as far away as he could from the border, probably in the direction of help. I hopped back onto my vespa and sped up until I was next to him. "Will he be ok?" I asked, yelling over the vespa motor.

A question mark on Cantis screen was the only immediate answer.

"Dammit, you're a Medical Mechanica robot! Don't you know _anything _about this stuff?" I was desperate. I, Haruhara Haruko, was _desperate_. Maybe my immunity to the Medical Mechanica fog was wearing off.

'Sorry, it's just that you're actually worried. I never would've thought you'd do that for anyone other then Naota.'

"If something happens to him, Takkun will never forgive me, and I'll never get that bass back!" I yelled, pointing out what I thought was the most obvious explanation.

Kamon made an odd coughing sound and muttered, "I'm fine, I'm fine…"

At this, Canti and I stopped our mad escape from the Mabase border and looked to see how 'fine' Kamon was. Surprisingly, other then some marks from where I slapped him, and the fact he was coated in his own blood, he seemed ok. As if to prove it, he stood up without any help and quickly did a pelvic thrust in my direction.

I snorted. "Mon-chan, you moron, what the hell was that about? We thought you were gonna freaking die."

He smiled sheepishly and attempted to look cute. "Haruko-san, it's so sexy of you to worry about little old me…"

I smiled back and succeeded at what he had not. "I know, isn't it? Besides, how could I not worry about you?"

We went back and forth like this as Canti did a few medical scans while Kamon wasn't looking. He gave me a thumbs up, indicating that there was nothing wrong. Ignoring some random perverted question, I pushed Kamon out of the way and began discussing this with Canti.

"You're absolutely sure he's ok?"

'All life signs are normal. It's as if it never happened.'

"Has this ever happened before?"

'Never.'

I eyed the Mabase border suspiciously. "Dammit. I don't know about you, Canti…but I smell a bug."

He nodded in agreement and the three of us sat there in silence for a few seconds.

…Or at least Canti and I did, while Kamon whined and tugged on my scarf.

Brushing him away, I hopped back onto my vespa. "Canti, I'm going over there. Follow me and scan the area or something, would ya?"

"What should I do?" asked Kamon in a wheedling tone.

"Stay as far away from that border as humanly possible," I ordered, patting him on the head like a child. "Or I'll never get that freaking bass," I muttered, more to myself then to him.

The border wasn't very far off, and soon Canti and I were searching the general area for anything suspicious that could cause something as horrendous as an attack like Kamons.

And, of course, that would be very hard to find. Realizing this, I called over to Canti, "Hurry up with that scan. I'll never find anything like this."

He wordlessly (or textlessly) complied and he soon had a screen full of data for me to look through.

The data itself was coded especially for Medical Mechanica drones and superiors, but it didn't take very long for me to understand what the problem was. But this problem was something I had yet to encounter in my lifetime of Me vs. Medical Mechanica.

"It's the fog that's doing this?"

Canti nodded his affirmation, pulling up several graphs and such of Medical Mechanica fog and its many effects and characteristics. I waved them away; I knew Medical Mechanica by heart, including its fog, although this use was rather surprising.

To keep the area in check, the Medical Mechanica factories would pump fog into the air. It didn't do too much, other then keep the inhabitants of the surrounding area slow and stupid and boring, which was needed in preparation for the flattening that would come later. Other then that, the stuff was harmless in moderate amounts, and the factories would only give off as little as needed.

But building up over a span of ten years? No wonder Kamon and Canti wanted out.

However, this was a slightly different problem. The fog concentration near the border was overwhelming enough to induce any sort of insanity, including an attack such as the one we had just witnessed. In fact, Kamon was lucky he didn't die within seconds. That's one hardy little pervert.

"Medical Mechanica must've tightened their defenses after Takkun left…" I muttered to Canti. "Looks like Kamon can't leave."

'What should we do?'

"Figure out a way to get rid of the fog, or at least lower the concentration enough to pass without vomiting organs, I guess…Do you have any fog-removing functions or something? You're a Medical Mechanica robot after all."

Canti shook his head. Of course, I thought. It'd be too easy if he did.

"Well…maybe I can send the fog somewhere else…" This was really more of a random spoken thought than a coherent plan, but before I knew it, I remembered how tremendous Atomsks N.O. was. Of course, I don't have the right head, but if I had Takkun with me I could send all of Mabase, nay the whole planet, across the galaxy if I wanted to! And all that really needed to be transported was a load of fog!

Sadly, I had no Takkun. All I had to work with were Ninamori, Amarao, and Kamon. Kamons N.O. was nonexistent, I had proved that already. Amaraos pathetic amount of N.O. wouldn't be enough, unless I gave him a huge amount of Atomsk to absorb, and that was out of the question. As for Ninamori, her N.O. was dormant and I had no guitar to whack her with. That, and I doubt she'd help me at this point, even if helping me could save Mabase.

"Hey Canti, which way's Okinawa again?" I asked.

He pointed southeast, towards the ocean.

"Ok, great, that's all I need. I'll come back later, ok?" I hopped back onto my vespa and was preparing to take off when Canti tugged on my scarf in protest. 'You said you'd help us.'

"I know, but I can't help you without Takkun."

'How do I know you won't forget? How do I know you're being honest?'

"I, Haruhara Haruko, lie? Canti, don't be silly."

Canti simply looked at me, his mechanical brain searching for a proper answer to this. After a time, three dots in a line appeared on his screen.

"…Ok, point taken. Then come with me!"

Canti processed my demand for a moment, looking in Kamons general direction.

I shook my head, grinning at this robots capacity for feeling. "Kamon's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

He slowly turned to look back at me. Somewhere behind us, the sun was rising. It would have totally been a moment if it wasn't for Kamons anguished moans of loneliness (at least I hope it was loneliness, it'd be awkward if he was moaning about anything else…) in the background.

There was a pause.

There was a thought; _God, this is cliche._

There was a nod of affirmation.

And we were off.

* * *

To Okinawa! Woo! Oh, and Okinawa is an island off of Japan...a little southeast of it, I'd say. It's a popular spot for school trips in animes, so you've probably heard of it. Like...um examples...um. Azumanga Daioh, Evangelion (although its only mentioned) and in the Loveless anime, Soubi goes off on a random excursion to Okinawa, so there you go. Banzai for the Iromote cat!


	6. Chapter 6

OMG another update...that was fast...but that's only because this chapter's kinda short...yay. Enjoy.

* * *

"Hey, Takkun, whatcha up to?" I poked my head through the doorway, grinning obnoxiously into Takkuns room, looking for something to do.

Takkun turned towards me from his spot, annoyed. He was on the ground, surrounded by several pamphlets and books. A closer look revealed they were travel guides and advertisements. "Go away, Haruko."

I ignored this and plopped down next to him. "What is this, homework? At home? You're so weird!" I picked up one of the pamphlets and began flipping through it. It sported several glossy pictures of happy hula girls and tourists in colorful shirts and dorky glasses. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I wish," muttered Takkun bad-temperedly. "Get out of my room."

I scooted closer to him seductively, still clutching the silly pamphlet. "You mean OUR room, right Takkun?"

"I mean MY room."

"Aw, you're being territorial! That's so cute and sexy!" I was just about to glomp him and start a fun cuddle-fest among the books and pamphlets, but he moved away at the last second, and I ended up hitting the ground instead.

"Dammit, Haruko, I went the long way home today to avoid Mamimi, and this is the last thing I need right now!"

"On the contrary…" I shifted my position on the ground so my head was in Takkuns lap. "…I think you need to submit to all the cuddling you can, Takkun. You won't be so cute and cuddly forever! One day, you'll grow up, and-"

He stood up abruptly, and my head bounced against the floorboards. "I _am_ grown up," he muttered.

Ignoring the slight pain in my head, I stood up, and grabbed Takkun. "So you're all grown up, huh?" I hoisted him over my shoulder, and giggled as I felt him stiffen up in surprise.

"Haruko-? What-? Put me down!"

"No way! You're SO grown up…" I fell upon the bottom bunk of his (our) bed, my arms around his middle, him on top of me. I gave him a small seductive smile. "…so prove it."

He stared at me for a while, blushing furiously and trying hard to ignore the fact that he was in a bed, on top of a gorgeous alien chick. (It doesn't count as bragging if it's truuuue…) "Are you serious?" he stammered.

I nodded, grinning girlishly, but curious to see what he'd do next.

He paused, his head right above mine, still blushing, still embarrassed, still unsure of what to do, but not protesting, much to my interest. All he did was stare.

I considered raising my head a couple of inches to kiss him, but I figured that that wouldn't do much to prove his maturity. And it'd probably just freak him out. I mean, here he was, this little twelve-year-old kid, on top of me, my hands around his waist and his breath on my lips and- holy shit, was he coming _closer_?

It suddenly registered that this was Takkun. Silly, adorable, young, timid Takkun. Unable to process the idea of him kissing me of his own free will, I snorted loudly, breaking whatever spell that had been over him.

He leapt off the bunk, his face beet red. "Ugh! Like anyone would ever sleep with you, you creepy, child-molesting, Lolita obsessed, hag!"

"Awww, hag? That's so mean, Takkun! And Lolita is the term for sexy under aged little girls, not boys!" I whined, clutching his pillow.

"Oh grow up!" He yelled, and stormed out of his (our) room, still blushing.

I grinned and fell back on the bed, the pillow comfortably held to my chest, where his small weight had been moments before.

The grin silently fell.

_(Well, dammit.)_

And I still don't really understand why.

**Instant Music, Chapter Six**

I knew I hadn't been in Mabase for very long, but it felt great to be on the road again. Or rather, on the ocean. Or over it. But yeah, ocean as far as the eye could see. Kinda like space, only with more water. And air. And sky. Ok, scratch that, it was nothing like space, but I was in a good mood and willing to think of it as such.

Canti was an excellent ally. For one thing, he wasn't stupid and whiny. As for another thing, he was a quick thinker, he was obedient, and he seemed to want to see Takkun as much as I did. The silly sentimental robot must've missed him.

I admit, I was curious to see how Takkun had grown in my absence. After all, he WAS an ex-client of mine. I might've scarred him for life, or maybe he blamed his crappy, lonely, childhood on me, or perhaps he was crazy with the need for vengeance after what I did to him.

I was curious, but after thinking about how much he probably hated me, my thoughts would turn back to my Rickenbacker 4003, and I would be happily distracted for hours on end. It's not like it mattered anyway. The bass was the important thing.

We went like this for days, and I was fairly content that my journey was perhaps almost done, and soon I would be searching for my purpose once again with my trusty bass by my side.

That is, I was content until I got hungry.

"Heeeeey Canti!" I called over my shoulder. "How much farther do we have to go?"

There were a few beeps indicating processing, and then, 'I'm sorry, but Medical Mechanica only gave me basic knowledge of Mabase and the surrounding area. All I know is that we're flying in the right direction.'

I frowned and began pouting, not bothering to steer my vespa (the thing knew which direction to go, anyway.). "Dammit, I need to eat eventually!"

Canti flew a little farther ahead and looked around. 'I think there's a ship nearby. Perhaps we can fly down and ask for assistance.' He pointed at a black dot floating on the ocean far below us.

A ship? This was good. Very good. First we could 'take care' of the crew, then help ourselves to their galley, and then after that we could-

"Wait. Did you say, ask for assistance?"

'Of course. What else would we do?"

Damn robot. "Fine…" I grumbled and shot down towards the ship with Canti close behind.

We crashed onto the deck of the ship complete with all of the necessary yells and whistles needed for such a stunt. A job well done, I'd say, and as the dust cleared we were greeted with the sudden knowledge that we had just crash landed on a massive cruise ship.

In case you missed that, A MASSIVE CRUISE SHIP.

I grinned triumphantly, ignoring the stares from the frightened and confused tourists.

"Hey guys, my name's Haruhara Haruko, and I'm freaking hungry!" I pulled a 10,000 yen bill out of one of the folds in my scarf and held it up in the air. "Help please?" I asked sweetly.

In a matter of minutes I was seated comfortably at a small table overlooking the ocean and stuffing my face with super spicy curry. "Man, Canti," I chattered between mouthfuls, "this is the LIFE."

Canti nodded, either in agreement, or just to shut me up.

"Hey, you think they'd have maps here? I want to know how much farther it is to Okinawa."

Canti shrugged, and I got the point; he wanted me to shut up. Such a moody robot, I thought to myself, licking my spoon. And so hard to tell too, I mean, it's not like there's any expression on that screen of his. Just mirrored reflections of me, the table, the curry stains, my vespa in the background, and a rust-haired girl with a camera.

Wait. What?

I looked closer into Cantis screen, staring at this phantom from ten years ago. Sure, she was a little taller, her hair was longer, and she no longer wore the high school uniform, but other then that, it was the spitting image of one Samejima Mamimi.

The phantom reflection and I made eye contact, but only for a brief moment. Eyes widening, she looked- no- gaped suddenly past me and the phantoms lips moved and there was a yell, quickly followed by the quiet snap of a camera.

"Cantido-sama!" Before I could process that the phantom was indeed real, she had dashed over and had wrapped her arms around Canti in one of the most impressive glomps I had ever seen. "Canti-sama, I can't believe you're here!" She pulled away mournfully. "I'm sorry I never visit, I've tried, but-"

I coughed loudly, and Mamimi turned around and looked at me as if noticing me for the first time. "Haru-san!" She ran over and hugged me (which was odd, I usually hug other people, such as men/boys that need some manipulation, and they rarely hug me), saying, "I thought you'd left for good! It's so great to see you again!"

I patted her on the back awkwardly, not really being used to it. "Yeah, you too Sameji. How's it going?"

She grinned girlishly and began chatting to me about her career as a photographer, her new life in America, and anything else she could think of. I smirked quietly and let her rant on uninterrupted. Mamimi was still a little ditzy, but she had done pretty well for herself. For a weak human she looked pretty healthy, and there's no way she was dirt poor and living under a bridge anymore with the clothes she was wearing. She didn't seem to want to give up the miniskirt though, and as she chattered, perverted looking guys would stand behind her and stare at her barely-concealed ass. It was funny to watch.

There was a rare pause, and I noticed the ring on her finger. "Heeey, Sameji, you got married?"

She somehow managed to smile even brighter, a feat I had thought impossible. "Yeah, I completely forgot to tell you, but I'm on my honeymoon!"

I raised an eyebrow, surprised she didn't mention it before. Then again, I really shouldn't have been, as this is Mamimi we're talking about. "Niiiice, Sameji! Who's the lucky man?"

Mamimi looked incredibly, genuinely, happy as she exclaimed, "Tasuku-sempai! Remember? He's Naotas older brother!"

My eyes widened. I had never believed in fate, but I admit this situation almost changed that.

Finding Takkun had suddenly become infinitely easier.

* * *

See? Short. Short like a Mamimi skirt.

Speaking of Mamimi, she's awesome and fun and I couldn't help but a) give her back the love of her life (YAY FOR THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!) and b) stick her into the story somewhere. So yeah. Yay for Mami-chan!


End file.
